![\"Fida](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_Fida-Aslam-Queensway-Market.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDozens of traders say their livelihoods are being destroyed as they are being kicked out so a high-end supermarket can move in<\/p>\n
Fida Aslam is being forced to pack her entire caf\u00e9 into moving boxes(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga\/MyLondon)<\/p>\n
“I think it\u2019s appalling, it\u2019s disgusting,” Dawood Gordon says as he gazes across the eclectic mix of shops in West London\u2019s Queensway Market<\/a>. “These people have families, how are they going to pay their rent? You won’t find another place like this. It bothers me that the landlord is so heartless to go ahead with this.”<\/p>\n On an unseasonably warm April afternoon traders are using brief gaps in service to slowly pack their belongings into cardboard boxes. Two weeks ago they were handed notices to quit the premises due to plans from landlords Baine Capital to turn the site into a Whole Foods<\/a> – an upmarket chain owned by Amazon.<\/p>\n The letter was met with shock and disbelief from more than 50 business owners who were told they would have to leave by April 23. Many of these traders see it as a gentrified <\/a>move to replace one of Westminster’s last working-class community spaces with an international company which can afford a higher rent.<\/p>\n Queensway Market was one of the last remaining bastions of Westminster untouched by gentrification(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga\/MyLondon)<\/p>\n A short stroll in from the market\u2019s entrance Fida Aslam has already taken the decision to close her Malaysian caf\u00e9 Kampong Bites. Boxes filled with plates, bowls and cooking utensils can be seen stacked high against the wall as she makes plans to leave the site within a fortnight.<\/p>\n “This is heartbreaking for me,” she tells MyLondon. “I started this business from my own kitchen, and then slept in my car for four months after I moved here to get it up and running. They should have given us more notice, I\u2019ve spent \u00a330,000 to make it a nice place and now it\u2019s gone.”<\/p>\n Fida has run her caf\u00e9 in Queensway Market for 18 months and says she was quickly able to feel welcome by traders and customers alike. \u201cThe market is very unique, we\u2019re like a family here,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n \u201cSince I opened my caf\u00e9 here I don\u2019t need to go anywhere else; there\u2019s a hair salon, and somewhere you can buy clothes, shoes and food. I\u2019m going to miss this place so much.\u201d<\/p>\n Baine Capital has offered all traders a brief stay of execution for one more month after April 23, while some will be allowed to stay for four if they agree to move pitches to the northern end of the market due to shut at a later date. Despite this, many have decided to cut their losses and leave before the deadline.<\/p>\n Zafar Odinaev expects the move to another site will cost him about \u00a3100,000(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga\/MyLondon)<\/p>\n Zafar Odinaev, the owner of restaurant Uzbek Corner which has been a key attraction for Queensway Market customers since 2016, has found the imminent closure particularly hard to accept. He said: “When we opened 10 years ago we were the only Uzbek restaurant in the UK .To lose what we built over 10 years in just four weeks is awful.<\/p>\n “I think we\u2019ll lose \u00a3100,000 in total from shutting and having to find another place. I\u2019ve been looking around and every new site is looking for a deposit of \u00a350,000 or \u00a360,000. We\u2019ve built up a loyal customer base here and our customers really want us to stay.”<\/p>\n A community campaign has been launched in an attempt to save the market from being transformed into a Whole Foods. The petition has received almost 600 signatures<\/a> in three days as supporters hope to resist the \u201ccorporatisation of community spaces\u201d.<\/p>\n Vito di Bari fears the closure of Queensway Market will destroy families (Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga\/MyLondon)<\/p>\n Vito di Bari, who opened his LGBT boutique in Queensway Market seven years ago, agrees with the assessment that diverse spaces are being nudged out by private capital. \u201cThis will destroy families and livelihoods, and they simply don\u2019t care,\u201d he tells MyLondon.<\/p>\n “So many people rely on this place. I have nowhere to go and have invested all of my money into my business. I\u2019ve lost my smile. I\u2019m very worried and upset about what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n “LGBTQ+ people come here from across London because you can\u2019t get a lot of these products from other shops. This is a similar story for lots of other businesses here who are relied on so much by their customers.”<\/p>\n As spokesperson for Whole Foods said: “We can confirm we have signed a lease as a tenant with Bourne Capital, but we don’t have any additional updates at this time.”<\/p>\n![\"Queensway](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_Queensway-Market.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Zafar](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3_Zafar-Odinaev.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Vito](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_FA_0956.jpg\")
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